Lab Report Marking Guide
PSYC10004 (Mind, Brain & Behaviour 2)
1
Background
Public stigma about mental illness manifests in terms
of stereotyped beliefs and attitudes, prejudicial
emotions, and importantly, discriminatory behaviours
such as social distancing (see lecture 2). Public
stigma has significant negative consequences for
people living with mental health issues. For
example, this type of stigma is known to be a barrier
to help-seeking for mental health problems. As discussed in Dr Groot’s stigma lecture, public
stigma is thought to be the driver behind all other types of stigma. It is therefore important to
understand what is effective in reducing public stigma about mental illness, and this is what your
MBB2 assignment is about.
Numerous strategies have been proposed to decrease stigma about mental illness, including but
not limited to psychoeducation and contact interventions. Psychoeducation refers to education
about mental health and illness. It is theorised that psychoeducation can decrease stigma by
correcting harmful and misled beliefs about mental illness through the provision of valid
information. Contact interventions involve having contact with someone living with mental health
issues either face-to-face, online, or by watching a presentation. The theorised mechanism of
change here is that the positive experience of interacting with someone with lived experience of
mental illness again dispels myth and misled beliefs.
Dr Groot’s Clinical Psychology section of the MBB2 curriculum contains a considerable amount of
educational content about the experience of mental illness. Over the first three weeks of semester,
you will learn about general conceptualisations of mental health and illness, approaches to
classification and diagnosis, criteria for a range of disorders, and treatment. In this respect, the
Clinical Psychology section of the subject can be thought of as a psychoeducational intervention.
The MBB2 Clinical Psychology section will also, for the first time, contain a dedicated component
that focusses on contact with people living with mental health issues. In partnership with SANE
Australia and The Dax Centre, Dr Groot will present the ‘Hearing Voices’ program in order to value
the voice of lived experience in the curriculum. As part of the Hearing Voices program, you will get
to: 1) experience The Dax Centre online to learn about mental health issues through art produced
by people with lived experience; 2) hear from SANE Australia Peer Ambassadors about their lived
experience of mental health issues and recovery via a suite of recently recorded videos; 3) engage
with Dr Groot and a SANE Australia Peer Ambassador via a live-stream Q&A session, where you
will be able to ask questions about their experience. With the inclusion of the Hearing Voices
program, the Clinical Psychology section of MBB2 can also be considered to embody a contact
intervention.
Altogether, the MBB2 Clinical Psychology module can be therefore be thought of as a hybrid
psychoeducational and contact-based program that may reduce mental illness stigma. The aim of
your assignment tasks is to write a lab report that investigates the effectiveness of the
MBB2 clinical psychology program in reducing public mental illness stigma. This effectively
means that the aim of your lab report is to address the research question “Is the MBB2 clinical
psychology program effective in reducing public stigma about mental illness?”.

This assignment is worth 40% of
the total mark for PSYC10004
(Mind, Brain & Behaviour 2).

Due 21 September 2020 at 8:00
am.
Lab Report Marking Guide
PSYC10004 (Mind, Brain & Behaviour 2)
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Starting Reading
The core starting readings for this assignment are:
1. Kosyluk, K. A., Al-Khouja, M., Bink, A., Buchholz, B., Ellefson, S., Fokuo, K., ... & Powell, K.
(2016). Challenging the stigma of mental illness among college students. Journal of Adolescent
Health, 59(3), 325-331.
Note: This reading provides a description of a similar study conducted previously. You will note
many similarities between this project and our own. This reading is provided in Perusall.

2. Chapter 24 “Strategies to Reduce Mental Illness Stigma” (Nicolas Rüsch and Ziyan Xu) of the
book “The Stigma of Mental Illness – End of The Story?”. This book is available to borrow online
through the library. The complete reference is: Gaebel, W., Rössler, W., & Sartorius, N.
(2016). The Stigma of Mental Illness -- End of The Story? Springer.
Note: Chapter 24 provides a good overview of what works to reduce stigma about mental health
issues. You should pay particular attention to the sections on educational and contact-based
interventions for mental illness stigma.
3. Link, B. G., Cullen, F. T., Frank, J., & Wozniak, J. F. (1987). The social rejection of former
mental patients: Understanding why labels matter. American Journal of Sociology, 92(6), 1461-
1500.
Note: This reading describes the first use of the Social Distance Scale, which is the measure of
mental illness stigma that we are using this semester. You do not need to get too involved with
this very long reading. All you need to take from it is what the measure is that we have adapted for
our experiment this semester (see Appendix A in the reading), and what it is measuring. As a
reminder, I asked you to complete the Social Distance Scale at the start of semester and will ask
you to complete it again at the end of my clinical psychology lecture series. In your assignment,
we will compare the class’ average scores on the Social Distance Scale at these two times and
evaluate if there is a meaningful difference. If there is such a difference in scores on the scale at
these two times, with the second average being lower than the first, then we would have evidence
that the clinical psychology course is an effective intervention for mental illness stigma. If there is
no such pattern of findings, then we would not have evidence to make such a conclusion.

Notes on writing a lab report
We will give you plenty of support as you commence on your lab report writing journey. Indeed,
the first practical class will very much focus on exploring the lab report and getting started. There
are also a suite of instructional modules on how to write a lab report that I have provided on
Lab Report Marking Guide
PSYC10004 (Mind, Brain & Behaviour 2)
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Canvas. You might additionally like to start by reviewing the Kozyluk et al starting paper in
Perusall. This paper shares many of the features of a lab report and you will see that I have made
some basic commentary to draw your attention to certain aspects of the report, its structure and
style.
There is a very specific way to write a lab report. In many respects, this makes your task easier
than it may be if you had to start from scratch with no framework. Lab reports have specific
sections, each of which are dedicated to doing a certain thing. Learning to write in this formulaic
way can be uncomfortable at first and particularly so if you have a creative writing background.
The marking criteria provided below will be a useful guide, however, and you should refer to them
to inform your approach. Let’s look at the basic format of a lab report…
1. Abstract. The abstract is a brief summary of the entire report. It provides a preview of the
report and can encourage the reader to go on to read the entire report. There is no abstract
required for your MBB2 lab report. I want you to leave this out. I mention this here just so that
you know it is a thing that is sometimes required, but that I am not asking you to do it. So, nada,
zilch, zero, absence of …no abstract, please. Include everything else below.
2. Introduction. This is where you will introduce your topic and establish its importance. You will
provide a literature review that describes relevant previous work such as that of Kozyluk et al and
others. In doing so, you will be building a case for the current study. At the end of the
introduction , you will formally state your aim and hypothesis for the study. Note that for this
assignment, you should state one hypothesis only. This hypothesis should be a prediction about
what you think will happen to the MBB2 group’s stigma levels after the clinical course in
comparison to the baseline measurement taken before the course.
3. Method. This is where you describe the demographic characteristics of the sample of
participants who were involved in the study, and go on to describe the survey that was used and
the procedure that was undertaken. You can also describe how analysis of the data was
approached.
4. Results. In the results section, you will simply report the findings of the study. That’s it. No
more. This can feel uncomfortable in that you are not providing interpretation at the point of
reporting the results. Don’t worry though, you will have your opportunity to interpret the results in
good time.
5. Discussion. Your discussion section should open by reorienting the reader to the aim of the
study and providing an explicit statement of support (or not) for the hypothesis based on your
findings. You would then move on to interpret the current findings in relation to the previous
literature that you covered in the literature review section of your introduction. You could talk about
whether or not your findings were in line with previous ones. If they are not in line, then you could
try to account for why this may be. You could also relate your findings to any theory that you
introduced in the introduction. You would go on to acknowledge limitations of your study in a
measured way, and wind up by summarizing your study and providing logical suggestions for
future directions in this avenue of research.
Lab Report Marking Guide
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6. References. You will need to provide a full reference list that acknowledge each cited paper in
the lab report. Speaking of referencing and citation. Always make sure you are giving credit
where it is due. See my video on this in the Assignment section of Canvas.
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Assessment Criteria
A. Title
Weight
5%
A1. Title Content • Clearly and concisely outlines the main topic of the research,
including the relationship between key variables.
5%
B. Introduction
Weight
25%
B1. Opening • Opens by introducing the problem under investigation and
outlining its importance.
5%
B2. Literature Review
(Relevance and
Understanding)
• Provides a succinct and focused review of literature relevant to
the problem.
• Summarises key background information accurately and in
appropriate detail.
8%
B3. Literature Review
(Rationale)
• Develops a cogent rationale by critically evaluating the literature
and explaining how the current study builds on prior research.
7%
B4. Aims and Hypotheses • Outlines the purpose and scope of the study and generates
specific hypotheses for testing.
5%
C. Method
Weight
10%
C1. Participants • Describes the participants involved in the research. In most cases,
this includes:
- number of participants in total and in relevant subgroups
- descriptive statistics for years of age
- gender composition of the sample
- other major demographic characteristics as warranted by
the study
- eligibility and exclusion criteria
2%
C2. Materials and
Measures
• Describes all outcome measures, and the materials used to derive
them, with sufficient detail to facilitate reproducibility.
4%
C3. Procedure and
Design
• Describes the procedures that were carried out in the study,
including a detailed outline of how participants were allocated to
groups or conditions and the specific steps involved in collecting
and analysing data.







4%
D. Results
Weight
20%
D1. Statistical
Information
• Presents all relevant statistical information accurately and
completely.
5%
D2. Presentation • Describes the results of each analysis appropriately and presents
statistical and mathematical information in correct APA Style
format.
10%
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• Presents results in an organised manner, following the structure
set by the study’s design and the order of the aims and
hypotheses.
• Avoids making interpretive comments that are better suited for
the Discussion (e.g., interpreting what the result means for the
hypotheses stated in the Introduction).
D3. Tables and Figures • Presents at least one table or figure which is referred to and
described appropriately in text.
• Tables/figures conform to the requirements of APA Style.
• Each table/figure serves a purpose and does not merely duplicate
information contained in the text or in another table or figure.
5%
E. Discussion
Weight
22%
E1. Hypotheses • Opens with a clear statement summarising the aims and
hypotheses and indicating whether the hypotheses were
supported or not.
5%
E2. Interpretation • Considers how the study’s findings are similar to or different from
relevant prior work.
• Considers what the results mean for the problem under
investigation, particularly with regard to the specific issues raised
in the Introduction.
• Reflects on how the study advances scholarship in the field
without overstating the importance of the study and its findings.
10%
E3. Future Directions • Suggests future directions informed by problems that remain
unresolved, new questions that have arisen as a consequence of
the study’s findings, or limitations in the design of the study that
may need to be addressed in future work.
5%
E4. Conclusions • Concludes by briefly returning to a discussion of why the problem
is important and how the findings relate to the overarching issues
motivating the research.
2%
F. Writing/Presentation
Weight
18%
F1. Written Expression • Demonstrates clarity and conciseness in written expression.
• Demonstrates continuity and flow within and across all sections
of the report.
• Exhibits a professional tone suitable for academic writing.
• Word choice is appropriate and sentences are well-constructed,
with no errors in spelling, grammar, or usage.
• Contains an appropriate amount of original material.
8%
F2. Report Formatting • Adheres to APA Style formatting requirements (e.g., with regard to
page numbers, capitalisation, punctuation, headings, line
spacing, paragraph alignment, and indentation).
5%
F3. Referencing • Works are cited appropriately in-text and in the reference list,
following the requirements of APA Style.
5%
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Assessment and Feedback
Your work will be evaluated according to the
assessment criteria, with the table below used as a
guide for marking. Your tutor will also provide
feedback on your report, with the aim of offering
practical guidance that you can use to enhance your
lab report writing in the future.
Grade Range Example Descriptor
H1 80–100 Excellent performance;
shows a high to very high
level of proficiency.
H2A 75–79 Very good performance;
shows a high level of
proficiency.
H2B 70–74 Good performance; shows
a sound level of
proficiency.
H3 65–69 Competent performance;
shows a fair level of
proficiency.
P 50–64 Satisfactory performance;
shows an acceptable or
adequate level of
proficiency.
N 0–49 Unsatisfactory
performance; shows an
inadequate level of
proficiency.
Understanding the Criteria
Title and Abstract
The title of the report should be focused and
succinct; include only essential terms and avoid
using abbreviations and phrases that serve little to
no purpose (e.g., “a study of”).
Introduction Opening
The opening should give the reader an understanding
of the broader context for the research topic, setting
the stage for the more detailed review that follows. It
should attempt to engage the reader and capture
their interest by outlining the importance of the
topic. In terms of length, the opening is usually only
one paragraph. As with other parts of the report,
conciseness is a virtue; it is better to have a short
opening that quickly captures the reader’s interest
than a long, elaborate opening that fails to do so. Literature Review
There are two aspects to the literature review that
draw the attention of assessors. The first (B2) focuses
on whether you have selected relevant literature for
your review, whether that literature is discussed in
appropriate detail, and whether you understand the
key ideas under consideration.
The second aspect is the rationale (B3), which is
central to the purpose of the Introduction. Your task
is not merely to describe what has come before, but
to evaluate it and to build an argument for your
study. Assessors will have this question in mind when
reading through your Introduction: Is it clear why
further research is warranted and why the current
investigation will be valuable in advancing our
understanding of the problem?
Building a compelling rationale can be tricky and
there is no single recipe for how to do it; it depends
on the study and on the problem that study seeks to
address. One very common approach is to identify
gaps in our knowledge or barriers faced in previous
research, and then to argue that the current
investigation will address these. Importantly, the
rationale should guide the reader toward the specific
aims and hypotheses of your study. Thus, to develop
a cogent rationale you’ll need to think carefully
about what the study is trying to accomplish and how
it fits with prior research as you work through your
literature review. Aims and Hypotheses
The Introduction ends with a statement of the
study’s aims and hypotheses. These should follow
logically from the rationale, meaning that by the end
of the Introduction, it should be clear to the reader
how your aims and hypotheses were derived. Your
hypotheses must also be specific and testable,
meaning that you need to articulate clear
expectations for the results of the study.
Method
The method section should provide sufficient
information about how the study was conducted to
inform a replication. The Method comprises the
following sections.
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Participants
This section describes the sample of people who
participated in the study. This should include the
details of the total number of participants and a
breakdown of major demographic characteristics
such as gender identity and age. The source of the
sample should be acknowledged. For example, if the
sample participants were recruited from the first-
year psychology program at the University of
Melbourne, then you should say that.
Materials and Measures
This section describes the tools used to conduct the
study being reported. For example, if you used a
certain questionnaire, then you should name and
describe that questionnaire.
Procedure and Design.
In terms of procedure, one would describe the steps
taken by participants throughout the study. For
example, if participants completed an online
questionnaire, then you would say that here. In the
design section, you would go on to describe the
nature of the research design and of the analysis
applied to the data. For example, if your study
involved a repeated measures design, where
participants completed a survey both before and
after an intervention, and then these data on average
were compared, you would say that here.
Results
In this section, you need to report the results of the
analyses we performed, including all relevant
statistical information. In practice, this means
correctly reporting the appropriate descriptive and
inferential statistics, either in text or in a suitable
table or figure.
When presenting this information, observe the
conventions of APA Style with regard to rounding,
leading zeros, spacing, the proper use of statistical
symbols and abbreviations, and so on. Describe the
results of each analysis clearly in prose, but avoid
discussing whether the findings lend support to the
hypotheses and other theoretical implications—such
material is better placed in the Discussion. Think
carefully about how best to organise the Results
section. It is useful to closely follow the structure
already laid out in earlier sections of the report.
If you are required to include a table and/or a figure,
ensure that it serves a purpose and does not merely
duplicate information presented elsewhere. Ensure
that all tables and figures are formatted correctly and
refer to each table and figure in text by its designated
number only (e.g., Table 1). Do not refer to tables and
figures by their position relative to the text (e.g.,
“above” or “below”). Finally, present the table and/or
figure after it has first been referred to in text.
Discussion Hypotheses
Begin the Discussion by reminding the reader of the
study’s aims; then, summarise the hypotheses and
state whether they were supported or not. Interpretation
The next crucial step in the Discussion is to compare
your findings to that of relevant prior work. Are your
findings congruent with those reported previously?
In what way do your findings differ and why? In this
part of the report you must also consider what the
results mean for the problem under investigation;
that is, you need to discuss the implications of the
findings as they relate to the key issues you identified
in the Introduction. In that section, you would have
articulated your empirical expectations (hypotheses)
and clearly explained why they are justified. Those
expectations were either supported or not supported
by the results. Whatever the case may be, this has
implications for how we think about the research
topic, which need to be explored thoroughly in the
Discussion. As you work through this part of the
report, consider how the findings of the current
investigation add to the literature and advance our
understanding of the problem. Be careful not to
overstate the significance of your scholarly
contributions though—progress in science often
proceeds in small steps and your study is likely only
one such step. Future Directions
Having interpreted the findings, you should then
consider directions for future research on the topic. It
is highly unlikely that that your study was executed
perfectly and that there are no further questions to
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answer with regard to the problem. Thus, in
suggesting future directions, you should think about
limitations in your study’s design, issues that remain
unresolved, and new questions that may have arisen
from your findings. Importantly, each point needs to
be argued for and justified; it is not sufficient to
simply claim that a certain facet of the study is a
limitation without explaining why it constitutes a
limitation and, ideally, how future work may
overcome it. The goal is not to discredit your work by
trying to find as many flaws as possible, but to show
that you have given consideration to how certain
factors may limit the scope of your interpretation and
to reflect on how future research may usefully build
on your work. Conclusion
In the final paragraph of the report you should
conclude by briefly returning to a discussion of why
the problem is important and how the findings relate
to the overarching issues motivating the research.
This part of the Discussion is similar to the opening
paragraph of the Introduction: It should attempt to
show the reader that the study’s findings shed light
on a problem that is interesting and important.
Writing and Presentation
As indicated in the Melbourne School of
Psychological Sciences Student Manual, you are
required to use APA Style in all work submitted for
assessment. APA Style is described in detail in the
Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association, which provides extensive guidance on
written expression, formatting, and referencing. You
can find further information on the associated
website (https://apastyle.apa.org/).
Resources
American Psychological Association. (2020).
Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (7th ed.).
https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
Baldwin, S. A. (2018). Writing your psychology
research paper. American Psychological
Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000045-000
Beins, B. C., & Beins, A. M. (2012). Effective writing in
psychology: Papers, posters, and presentations
(2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
Kail, R. V. (2019). Scientific writing for psychology:
Lessons in clarity and style (2nd ed.). Sage.